Final 4th TNNLU NMCC Brochure

4th TNNLU – CCI
National Online Moot Court

Competition, 2021
May 28th - 30th, 2021
Organised by Tamil Nadu National Law University

in collaboration with
Competition Commission of India
May 28- 30, 2021 4th TNNLU – CCI National Online Moot Court Competition 2021
4th TNNLU – CCI NATIONAL ONLINE MOOT COURT COMPETITION,

2021
{28th – 30th May 2021}
Tamil Nadu National Law University
The Tamil Nadu National Law University (TNNLU) was established by the Government of Tamil Nadu
by an Act of State Legislature (Tamil Nadu Act No. 9 of 2012) to provide quality legal education at the
global level. TNNLU has been established with the objective of advancing and engaging with the
knowledge of the law, its processes, and its role in national development. TNNLU is committed to the
endeavour of developing in its students and research scholars a sense of responsibility to serve the
society in the field of law by cultivating skills in advocacy, legal services, legislation and reforms.
TNNLU has organized lectures, seminars, symposia and conferences, including an international
conference on Affirmative Action and the Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality, to
promote legal knowledge and to make law and legal processes efficient instruments of social
development.
The Competition Commission of India
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) at New Delhi is a regulatory body established by the
Government of India. The duty of the Commission is to carry out the objectives enumerated under the
Competition Act, 2002, i.e., to prohibit anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by
enterprises and regulate combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A), which cause or are
likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India. The broad objective of the Act
is to create and sustain fair competition in the economy that will provide a ‘level playing field’ to the
producers and make the markets. To this end, the mandate of the CCI includes eliminating practices
having adverse effect on competition; inspiring businesses to be fair, competitive and innovative;
protection of the interests of consumers, and ensuring freedom of trade in the markets of India. To
achieve its objectives, the Commission engages in wide-ranging advocacy programmes like competition
assessment of policies and legislations by collaborating with educational institutions, conducting training
sessions, panel discussions and conferences on issues in competition law, offering internship
opportunities to students and also organizing national level essay writing competitions.
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Centre for Competition Law, TNNLU
TNNLU was selected by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), New Delhi under the CCI
(Competition Assessment of Economic Legislations and Policies) Guidelines, 2017 to act as an
Empanelled Institution for the purposes of carrying out Competition Assessment of the Economic
Legislation, Bills and Policies. TNNLU was one among the four Universities across India to be
empanelled by CCI for this prestigious work. Subsequently, the Centre for Competition Law (CCL) was
set up on 4th February 2018 to carry forward the empanelment work along with other research activities.
The mission of CCL is to create awareness among the general public at large about the implications of
Competition Law and to carry out focused research in the field of Competition and Commercial Laws.
With a view to disseminate information on promoting competition in the market, we intend to conduct
workshops, training programmes, publish newsletters/case summaries etc. in the domain of
Competition Law.
Moot Court Committee, TNNLU
The Moot Court Committee (MCC) of TNNLU has been regularly conducting various inter and intra
moot court competitions since 2014. The first edition of the National Moot Court Competition was
organised from 24th to 26th March 2017. In 2018, MCC collaborated with CCI for the first time to
organise the 1stTNNLU-CCI National Moot Court Competition from 2ndto 4thFebruary 2018, and
successively 2ndedition of the TNNLU-CCI National Moot Court Competition from 6th to 8th of March
2019 and 3rd TNNLU-CCI National Moot court Competition from 6th to 8th of March 2020.All three
editions saw large participation from law students all over India. This year we are happy to collaborate
with CCI once again to organise the 4th TNNLU-CCI National Online Moot Court Competition, 2021.
Organizing Committee
Competition Administrator:
Sumedha Ray Sarkar, Assistant Professor of Law
Student Coordinators:
Ashwin Bala Someshwerar +91-73392 97775
Gunasri +91-94875 91426
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CONTENTS
OFFICIAL SCHEDULE ................................................................................................................................ 5
RULES .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
1. Definitions ..................................................................................................................................... 6
2. General ........................................................................................................................................... 7
3. Release of Problem and Clarifications ....................................................................................... 8
4. Memorial Rules .............................................................................................................................. 9
5. Competition Rounds .................................................................................................................. 12
6. Awards .......................................................................................................................................... 15
7. Code of Conduct ......................................................................................................................... 15
8. Miscellaneous ............................................................................................................................... 16
MOOT PROPOSITION .............................................................................................................................. 17
REGISTRATION FORM ............................................................................................................................. 25
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OFFICIAL SCHEDULE
Commencement of Provisional Registration March 16, 2021
Release of Moot Problem & Rules April 6, 2021
Last Date for Final Registration 11:59 PM (IST), April 12, 2021
Last Date for Seeking Clarifications 11:59 PM (IST), April 16, 2021
Release of Clarifications April 19, 2021
Deadline for submission of Soft Copy of the

11:59 PM (IST), May 5, 2021
Memorials for Memorial Qualifier Round
Release of Results of the Memorial Qualifier

May 9, 2021
Round
Final Submission of Qualified Memorials 11:59 PM (IST), May 21, 2021
Orientation and Memorial Exchange May 28, 2021
Dates of the Competition May 29 and 30, 2021
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RULES OF THE 4TH TNNLU – CCI NATIONAL ONLINE MOOT COURT

COMPETITION, 2021
1. DEFINITIONS
1.1. Competition: The Competition refers to all the aspects of the 4th TNNLU-CCI National Moot
Court Competition, 2020
1.2. Organizers: It shall mean the Moot Court Committee of the Tamil Nadu National Law
University, Tiruchirappalli
1.3. Memorial: It means the written arguments submitted, on behalf of both parties, according to
the Rules of the Competition by each team.
1.4. Memorial Qualifier Round: In the Memorial Qualifier Round 16 teams will be selected out of
the 24 teams registered for the competition for the Oral Rounds.
1.5. Oral Rounds: It refers to the Competition rounds during which the teams orally submit their
pleadings in front of the judges on behalf of one of the parties against another team
representing the opposing party.
1.6. Oral Round Scores: It refers to the average of the scores secured by both the Speakers in the
Oral Rounds.
1.7. Qualifying Rounds: The Qualifying Rounds include the memorial qualifier round, and the
preliminary round of the Competition consisting of two rounds wherein teams must argue each
party once.
1.8. Advanced Rounds: It refers to the Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final rounds of the 4th
TNNLU – CCI National Online Moot Court Competition, 2021.
1.9. Power Match-up: The fixtures for the Oral Rounds of the Competition will be done on the
basis of a power match-up. For the first round of the Preliminary Round, power match-up will
be based on the memorial ranks secured by the team. (Out of 16 Ranks, Rank 1 v. Rank 16,
Rank 2 v. Rank 15…)For the Advanced Rounds, the power-up will be based on the Oral Round
Scores secured by the teams.
1.10. Slide match-up: The fixtures for the second round of the Preliminary Round will be
determined by the Organizers on the basis of a slide match-up (Out of 16 Ranks, Rank 1 v.
Rank 9, Rank 2 v. Rank 10 ...) of the memorial ranks secured by the teams.
1.11. Scouting: Scouting is the act of attending a round in which the members of the team or any
person related to the team are not competing.
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2. GENERAL
2.1. Eligibility
All students enrolled in a three (3) year LL.B. programme or a five (5) year LL.B. programme
shall be eligible to participate in the Competition. However, only one team per institution shall
be eligible to participate. Students enrolled in post-graduate or diploma courses are not eligible to
participate.
2.2. Team Composition

2.2.1. The team composition for the Competition shall be either two members (Both the members
designated as Speakers) or three members (Two members designated as Speakers and one
member designated as a Researcher)
2.2.2. Substitution of any team member or alteration of team composition is not allowed after the
date of Final Registration except in extenuating circumstances and only with the permission of
the Organizers.
2.2.3. A Researcher, in extenuating circumstances, may be allowed to argue during the Oral Rounds
with the permission of the judges.
2.3. Language
The Competition shall be conducted in English language only. All oral submissions and written
submissions (memorials and compendium) shall be in English.
3. REGISTRATION
3.1. General Rules for Registration
3.1.1. In this edition of the competition, the registration will be restricted to only 24 Teams of which
16 teams will qualify for the preliminary round through the memorial qualifier round. All the
Teams desirous of participating in the Competition should provisionally register themselves by
sending an email to nmcc@tnnlu.ac.in through the Moot Court Committee of their
Institution/College/University or the Faculty Coordinator of the Moot Court Committee.
Final registration formalities should be completed by the Team only after receiving an
affirmative reply from the OC to the provisional registration email.
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3.1.2. Institutions may provisionally register and reserve a slot in accordance to the procedure
prescribed in Rule 3.2. However, the slot will be revoked if the team fails to complete the
registration process prescribed in Rule 3.3.
3.2. Provisional Registration

3.2.1. Provisional Registration for the Competition shall open on 16th March 2021. Institutions can
temporarily block a slot by writing to the Organizers at nmcc@tnnlu.ac.in. Institutions will
receive a response immediately regarding the availability of slots and reservation of the same.
3.2.2. Institutions who have provisionally registered must complete the Registration process
described in Rule 3.3 by April 12, 2021.
3.3. Final Registration

3.3.1. A slot can be secured only after teams complete the Final Registration processby 11:59 PM
(IST), 12 April, 2021. Teams will receive a unique Team Code, for identification purposes,
once the Final Registration is complete.
3.3.2. To complete the Final Registration, teams must email a soft copy/scanned copy of the duly
filled Registration form, which has been annexed with this Brochure at page A to
nmcc@tnnlu.ac.in with the subject ‘Registration for 4th TNNLU-CCI NMCC 2021’.
3.3.3. A fee of Rs. 1500/- (One Thousand Five Hundred only) is payable towards registration. The
registration fee must be paid via NEFT (See Rule 3.3.4) or BHIM UPI by scanning the QR
code annexed with this Brochure at page latest by 11:59 PM (IST), 12 April, 2021.
Confirmation of payment of registration fee must also be attached with registration form.
3.3.4. Details of the Bank Account:
Name of the Account Holder: Registrar (MCC)
Name of the Branch: UCO Bank TNNLS Branch
Account Number: 30030110033470
IFSC Code: UCBA0003003
4. CLARIFICATIONS ON THE MOOT PROBLEM

4.1. Clarifications regarding the Moot Problem may be sought by the teams till 11:59 PM (IST), April
16, 2021 via an email to nmcc@tnnlu.ac.in with the subject ‘4th TNNLU-CCI NMCC, 2021-
Clarifications.’ The Clarifications sought by the teams will be published and circulated to the teams
via email by April 19, 2021.
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5. MEMORIAL RULES
5.1. General Rules for Memorials

5.1.1. All the teams must submit the soft copy of the memorial for the Memorial Qualifier Round to
the Organizers on or before 11:59 PM (IST), May 5, 2021, in the Google Form circulated via
email by the Organizers to the teams who have registered.
5.1.2. The soft copy of memorials once submitted cannot be revised or resubmitted.
5.1.3. The Results of the Memorial Qualifier Round will be released on May 9, 2021. The qualified
teams must submit their revised memorial by 11:59 PM (IST), May 21, 2021, in the Google
form circulated via email by the Organizers to the teams who have qualified.
5.1.4. Memorials submitted 24 hours after the deadline prescribed above will not be accepted.
5.1.5. The memorials shall not contain any annexure, photograph, graph, diagram or any other
representation of like nature.
5.2. Rules for Submission of Soft Copy of the Memorials

5.2.1. The soft copy of the memorial must be submitted as Word Document (.docx) as well as PDF
Format (.pdf) in the Google Form sent to the teams.
5.2.2. Memorials submitted via email or any other similar platform will not be accepted.
5.2.3. The memorials must be named in the following format: “Team Code –Informant/Opposite Party”,
for example, “T20 - Informant”. The file name shall not carry any other identifying marks.
5.2.4. Memorials for both the parties must be submitted together. Separate submissions or any
request for separate submission will not be accepted or entertained.
5.3. Rules on the Content and Formatting Specifications of Memorials

5.3.1. Format Specifications
Each Team is required to prepare a memorial for each party of the dispute with the following
mandatory heads:
i. Cover Page
ii. Table of Contents
iii. Index of Authorities
iv. Statement of Jurisdiction
v. Statement of Facts (Must Not Exceed 2 Pages)
vi. Issues Raised
vii. Summary of Arguments (Must Not Exceed 2 Pages)
viii. Arguments Advanced (Must Not Exceed 25 Pages)
ix. Prayer (Must Not Exceed 1 Page)
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5.3.2. The Cover Page must contain only the following information:
i. The Team Code in the upper right corner of each memorial. No other
page must contain the team code.
ii. The name of the Forum resolving the dispute.
iii. The name of the Competition.
iv. Name of the parties and status before the Forum
v. The party on whose behalf the memorial has been prepared
5.3.3. All parts of the memorial (including headers, footers and headings) must be typed on A4 sized
paper/format, with the following Formatting Specifications:
i. Page Orientation: Portrait
ii. Font Type: Times New Roman
iii. Font Size: 12
iv. Line Spacing: 1.5
v. Margins: One (1) Inch On Each Side
5.3.4. For Footnotes, the Formatting Specifications are as below:
i. 20th Edition Bluebook style of uniform footnoting must be followed
throughout the memorials
ii. Font Type: Times New Roman
iii. Font Size: 10
iv. Line Spacing: 1
v. Speaking footnotes or endnotes are not allowed.
5.3.5. The memorials must not contain any identification apart from the team code allotted. If any
discrepancy or any attempt to disclose identity by any team is noticed by the Organizers, the
team will be disqualified.
5.4. Evaluation of Memorials

The maximum score for each memorial shall be 100 marks. The memorials shall be evaluated on
the following criteria:
Criteria For Evaluation Maximum Marks
Application of Facts 25 marks
Knowledge, Interpretation and Application of Law 25 marks
Ingenuity and Logical Reasoning 20 marks
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Use of Authorities and Precedents 20 marks
Presentation and Formatting 10 marks
5.5. Penalties
Any team violating the specifications as prescribed under Rule 5.1 to Rule 5.4 will be penalised as
described in the scheme below:
Description Penalty
Failure to include all the sections in the

5 marks for each section
memorials
Failure to include necessary information on the
Cover Page of the memorial or use of a colour
5 marks for each memorial
on the cover page contrary to the scheme
provided
Disclosure of identity of the team or of the

Disqualification of the team
institution being represented
Delay in submission 1 mark per hour of delay
Use of incorrect font style, font size or line 1 mark per violation, maximum of 10 marks per
spacing side
Incorrect Margins 2 marks – one-time penalty
Excessive length of any section of the

1 mark for each extra page
Memorials
Plagiarism in Memorials Disqualification of the team
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5.6. Copyright and Publication of Memorials

The Organizers reserve the right to reproduce and disseminate the memorials for the purpose of
the Competition. The submission of the memorial in this Competition will constitute the
consent for the same.
6. COMPETITION ROUNDS
6.1. Memorial qualifier round:

6.1.1. For the Memorial Qualifier round, each Team is required to prepare Written Submissions
for both sides, i.e., the Informant(s) and the Opposite Party(s) of the case and submit by
11:59 pm, May 5, 2021.
6.1.2. After evaluation of Memorials, the top 16 teams based on their memorial scores shall be
selected for the preliminary rounds. The results of the Memorial Qualifier Round shall be
intimated to the registered teams by May 9, 2021.
6.2. ORAL ROUND PROCEDURES

6.2.1. The oral rounds will be conducted online through Cisco Webex platform. The meeting links
and guidelines for the same shall be sent to the participants via email.
6.2.2. The oral rounds shall comprise of preliminary rounds, quarter finals, semi-finals and final
rounds. There shall be two preliminary rounds.
6.2.3. The time split between the speakers must be communicated to the Court Clerks prior to the
commencement of each round.
6.2.4. There will be no extension of time. If the judges are of the opinion that a certain exigency does
require an extension of time, they may extend the cumulative speaking time for a team.
6.2.5. There shall be no oral communication between team members and the speaker delivering oral
submissions.
6.2.6. The teams shall not disclose to the judges, in any manner whatsoever, for the entire duration
of the rounds, either their own individual identities or the identity of the institution that they
represent.
6.2.7. Sur-rebuttals maybe allowed at the discretion of the judges.
6.2.8. If a team scheduled to participate in the oral submissions of a round does not appear for ten
(10) minutes after the scheduled commencement of such round, the team will be disqualified
and the other team shall make oral submissions ex-parte.
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6.3. Preliminary Rounds

6.3.1 Each team will argue in two (2) Rounds, once for each party.
6.3.2 The fixtures will be based on the memorial scores secured by the teams. The fixtures for the
teams will be prepared by the Organizers on the basis of a power match-up and slide match-up
of ranks for the first and second rounds respectively.
6.3.3 Each team will be given 30 minutes which is inclusive of the time for rebuttal and sur-rebuttals.
Each team is entitled to a maximum of five (5) minutes out of the thirty (30) minutes for rebuttal
and sur-rebuttal.
6.3.4 The ranking of the teams in the Preliminary Rounds will be based on both Memorial Scores and
the Oral Round Scores. The scores of the Preliminary Rounds will be the aggregate of the
average scores in both the oral rounds and the Memorial score (70% of oral round scores and
30% of Memorial Score). For example, if the average of the memorial scores is x and the average
for the oral rounds is y, then the aggregate score will be a combination of 30% of x and 70% of
y.
6.3.5 If two or more teams have the same cumulative score (Memorial Score + Oral Round Scores),
the team with the higher cumulative Oral Rounds Scores shall be ranked higher.
6.3.6 In case of a tie, it shall be resolved in the following order:
(i) Memorial Score
(ii) Highest Score under the scoring criteria ‘Application of Legal Principles & Usage of Authorities’
(iii) Coin Toss
6.4 Advanced Rounds

6.4.1 The fixtures will be prepared by the Organizers on the basis of power match-ups generated using
the ranks from the Qualifying Round. The party each team has to argue on behalf of will be
determined by draw of lots.
6.4.2 The teams will be given forty five (45) minutes each which is inclusive of time allocated for
rebuttal or sur-rebuttal. Each team is entitled to a maximum of five (5) minutes out of the forty
five (45) minutes for rebuttal and sur-rebuttal.
6.4.3 The qualification in the Advanced Rounds shall be on the basis of win/loss, which will be
determined by taking into account the Oral Round Scores in the respective rounds.
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6.5 Scoring Criteria

The maximum score a Speaker can get is 100 marks. The criteria for evaluation in the Oral
Rounds are as below:
Criteria for Evaluation Maximum Marks

Application of Legal Principles & Usage of
25 Marks
Authorities
Knowledge of Facts 20 Marks
Structure, Articulation & Clarity 20 Marks
Ingenuity & Response to Questions 20 Marks
Court Etiquette, Presentation Style & Time
15 Marks
Management
6.6 Researcher’s Test

6.6.1 The Researcher’s Test will be conducted online on May 29, 2021.
6.6.2 Only a participant designated as the Researcher at the time of Final Registration shall be eligible
to participate in the Researcher’s Test.
6.6.3 The duration of the test is One (1) hour. The test will have both objective and subjective
questions based on the facts in the Moot Problem and the law applicable to the same.
7 AWARDS
7.1. The Competition includes the following awards:
Awards Prize Money

Winners Rs. 40, 000/-
Runners Up Rs. 30, 000/-
Best Researcher Rs. 10, 000/-
Best Speaker Rs. 10, 000/-
Best Memorial Rs. 10, 000/-
7.2. The Best Speaker will be decided on the basis of Oral Round Scores in the Qualifying Round.
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8. CODE OF CONDUCT
8.1. The Rules governing the conduct of the Competition should be strictly adhered to. Any deviation
thereof can attract penalties or disqualification at the sole discretion of the Organizers.
8.2. All participants shall adhere to the online meeting guidelines, notified by Organizers via email,
from time to time throughout the period of competition.
8.3. Any attempt to contact the framers of the Moot Problem will result in immediate disqualification.
8.4. The identities of the teams shall not be disclosed in any form in the memorials or the
compendiums.
8.5. All participants shall maintain decorum in the Court Hall during the Competition and are expected
to conduct themselves in a manner befitting the legal profession.
8.6. Scouting of a team’s future opponent is strictly prohibited. Violation of this rule will result in
immediate disqualification.
8.7. No team member or individual participating in the Competition shall attend the arguments of any
other team or individual except for the Final Round or receive information from any person who
has attended any of the other rounds in the Competition.
8.8. The Dress Code for the participants shall be formals. Men are expected to wear Western Formals
only (Black Blazer, Black tie, Black Pants, White Shirt, and Black formal shoes). Women can wear
either Western Formals (Black Formal Skirt or Black Pants, White Shirt, Black formal footwear) or
Indian Formals (White Kurta, Black Salwar/ Chudidhar, Black formal footwear).
8.9. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to take appropriate action with regard to any
dispute, unethical, unprofessional or immoral conduct.
9. MISCELLANEOUS
9.1. If and when any one of the members of a team is notified or informed of any detail or
information concerning the Competition, it shall be deemed as if the said team as a whole has
been duly notified or informed.
9.2. In case of any doubt in the understanding or interpretation of any matter concerning the
Competition, the decision of the Organizers shall be final and binding.
9.3. The Organizers reserve the right to amend, alter, vary or change, in any manner whatsoever, the
Rules governing the Competition, which would be communicated to the teams within a reasonable
period of time.
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MOOT PROPOSITION
1 The Imarti Competition Act, 2002 (ICA) is the primary statute governing competition law in the
developing country of the Republic of Imarti. The objective of the statute is to ensure that the
process of competition is left free without enterprises manipulating the market to their advantage
and following from that, to the disadvantage of consumers. The Act sets up the Competition
Commission of Imarti (CCI) as the principal enforcement mechanism under the Act.
2 The civil aviation industry in Imarti has emerged as one of the fastest growing industries in the
country during the last ten years. Worth over USD 100 billion, it is an intensely competitive
space with several indigenous carriers being established in the country. The major market players
are AirImarti, PurpleAir, YesAir, Vina Airways and CarinaJet known collectively as the “Big 5”.
Together, they generally hold nearly 80% of the market share, with CarinaJet being the market
leader at around 36%.
3 The civil aviation industry has consistently shown to be on an uptick with the number of
passengers growing at a rate of 11.3 percent annually over the last five years. It is estimated that
Imarti will need 1100 planes by 2027 to meet the demand as opposed to the 800 in its arsenal as
of 2017. The Big 5, which are primarily passenger carriers, have therefore been growing
aggressively to match that rise, constantly making purchases of planes to meet the demand.
4 The civil aviation industry also has a freight component which essentially transports cargo
around the country. Imarti has dedicated cargo carriers such as StatePro, DLP, and RedArrow.
These three companies, collectively known as “CoreCar” have traditionally been the most
popular carriers in the country, with over 40 years of experience. Together they capture about
72% of the air cargo market.
5 Recently, in April 2017, to offset operation costs, every cargo carrier has introduced an
additional charge to their basic shipping rates called the Fuel Surcharge (FSC). These charges are
designed to help carriers cover rising costs associated with Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). The
FSC is calculated in proportion to the ATF prices. Resultantly with a hike in prices for ATF, the
Fuel Surcharge is usually expected to increase as well. Traditionally, about 15 to 20% of cargo
revenue is attributable to FSC rates.
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6 The Big 5 also undertake cargo operations, and each of them introduced their FSC rates in June
2018. However since almost 80% of their revenue comes from passenger operations, the Big 5
have focussed all their business development on the passenger segment of their business.
7 In November 2018, the CCI received a letter from the Parliament of Imarti, requesting it to
investigate the Big 5 for cartelization, alleging that they had been maintaining a degree of stability
in their market shares during both peak and lean seasons over the last year. It was further alleged
that the end fares for shipping in their cargo segment, especially the FSC were not only similar
but constant, irrespective of the fluctuation in ATF prices. This letter was in keeping with the
practice of jurisdictions around the world tightening their grip on cartels, taking increasingly ‘no -
tolerance’ positions towards cartelisation by expanding enforcement capabilities, reducing
exemptions, and stiffening penalties for breaking of laws. At the time the Parliament sent the
letter, the FSC rates of the Big 5 as fixed by each of them were as follows:
Table 1
Airlines FSC Rate per kg
CarinaJet Rs.8
Vina Airways Rs.6
PurpleAir Rs. 6
AirImarti Rs. 6
YesAir Rs. 6.25
8 The Director General (DG), the investigation wing of the CCI, analysed the complaint brought
and determined that though there was some evidence of stability in the shares and the price,
there was no evidence of collusion and that price parallelism was a natural outcome of the
structure of the market. The CCI accepted the DG report and made an additional observation
on the complaint being premature and dismissed it in January 2019.
9 In November 2019, a curious development began in the Republic of Chinar, a country far from
Imarti. A new, unrecognisable virus was detected and seemed to be armed with an alarming rate
of infection. Within just two months, the virus, named Tikok-20, spread like wildfire throughout
the world as a result of the international movement of people.
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10 Confronting what was declared to be a pandemic, and with no vaccine or understanding of how
the virus worked, countries began to impose lockdown measures, which essentially imposed a
strict no-travel rule for people, whether by air, water, rail or road among other measures. In
order to contain the spread of the virus among its 1.3 billion strong population, Imarti imposed a
complete lockdown on 1st February 2020. All domestic and international transport was halted,
inter-state movement frozen, and all of its residents were mandated to stay indoors.
11 With a complete shutdown of crucial economic activity, Imarti and many other countries
plunged into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Republic
of Khamiri and United States of Pitta - developed, highly industrialised neighbouring nations, as
well as a number of other countries responded to the crisis by offering subsidies as well as using
their banking systems to advance loans to failing businesses. On the other hand, the
Government of Imarti, which was dealing with a tremendous inter-state migrant crisis was slow
to respond to bailout requests and was able to offer little to no subsidies.
12 The lockdown and recession also triggered regulatory authorities to reconsider their policies on
competition/antitrust issues, especially on the point of ‘crisis cartels’, a situation seen often
during economic downturns. Taking note of the unprecedented shock to economic activity, the
CCI, like many competition regulatory authorities around the world, issued its own advisory
dated 15th March 2020:
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION

Dated 15.03.2020
The Tikok-20 pandemic has affected the whole economy through different channels and in different ways. Among
them is the shock resulting from the disruption of supply chains, combined with a radical demand shock caused
either by an abrupt decline in consumer demand in certain products and services, or a steep rise in demand for
other products and services including those of critical healthcare products and other essential commodities/services.
In keeping with this development the CCI issues the following advisory:
1. The exceptional circumstances may trigger the need for undertakings to cooperate with each other to take
joint measures including actions such as:
i. sharing of data on stock levels,

ii. timings of operation or,
iii. sharing of distribution network and infrastructure and
iv. research and development (R & D)
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2. These sorts of joint measures in normal circumstances are problematic under Section 3(3) of the Imarti
Competition Act 2002. Nevertheless these measures, limited in duration and to meet the exigent
circumstances to assist patients, consumers, and communities affected by Tikok-20 and provide the people
of Imarti with products or services that might not be available otherwise due to shortages, would not give
rise to an enforcement priority for the CCI.
3. Coordinated activity of the nature mentioned above will be permitted to the extent they are necessary,
proportionate, and increase efficiency in the production, supply, distribution, storage and acquisition or
control of goods or provision of services as noted in Section 19(3) of the Act.
4. The CCI is committed to providing individuals and businesses in any sector of the economy that are
responding to the exigent circumstances expeditious guidance about how to ensure compliance with the
Act. Individuals and businesses may contact the agency for instructions and guidance if they are uncertain
about the permissibility of cooperation.
5. The above principles are subject to the understanding that even during this crisis, the CCI will resolutely
intervene in cartels between companies which aim to raise prices to the detriment of consumers. The same
will apply to the abuse of a dominant position, which a company uses to exclude competitors or to charge
manifestly unfair prices.
13 Following the issuance of the Advisory, the CCI began to decide pending cases of cartelization
before it. Amongst these was a supposed cartel of manufacturers of auto parts, that had indulged
in bid rigging in their dealings with the railways between 2017 - 2019. The CCI also dealt with
another case, here, concerning a cartel in the automotive bearings market between December
2019 and June 2020, where the companies had coordinated with each other on sharing
information about practices that would help preserve their revenue and workforce during the
pandemic.
14 In both these cases, the CCI found affirmative evidence of cartelization. However, with a
reference to the Advisory dated 15th March 2020, the CCI held in regard to the issue of penalty
in both cases vide orders issued on 21st September 2020 as follows:
“The Commission is cognizant of the prevailing economic situation arising due to the outbreak of the
global pandemic. We also note that the Opposite Parties have fully cooperated during the investigation by
not denying material asked for by the DG. In this backdrop, considering the matter holistically, the
Commission in the interest of justice, refrains from imposing any monetary penalty on the parties and
directs the parties to cease such cartel behaviour and desist from indulging in it in the future. The parties
19
are cautioned to ensure that their future conduct is strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Act,
failing which any such future behaviour would be viewed seriously with attendant consequences.”
15 Meanwhile, the natural consequence of the lockdown was that the entire passenger aviation
industry came to a complete standstill. There was an unprecedented loss of revenue which was
followed by the exit of several new entrants in the market, with some larger companies filing for
bankruptcy within a few months. The Big 5 also suffered greatly, with their revenues plummeting
by up to 85%. . They however, had somehow barely managed to keep their heads above water
because of their limited cargo operations. On the other hand, dedicated cargo carriers such as
StatePro, DLP, and RedArrow flourished as the lockdown had resulted in a dramatic increase in
the demand and dependency on the movement of goods through air. The increased demand was
a direct result of the lockdown period -severely limiting all movement through train lines, roads
and waterways due to their dependency on man power.
16 On 2nd June 2020, CarinaJet announced that it was converting 10 of its passenger aircrafts and 3
of its newly acquired planes into freighters. Within the next two weeks, the rest of the Big 5 also
announced the conversion of several of their passenger planes into freighters. Explaining the
move, the CEOs of the airlines in separate interviews stated that the cargo segment of their
operations was the only bright spot for them during the lockdown period. They further stated
that with no end to the pandemic in sight, it was necessary to contribute to the supply of cargo
services as the capacity of the existing cargo carriers was bound to eventually fall short of the
constantly increasing demand for their services.
17 Each of the Big 5 marketed this move heavily. They appealed to their customers to trust their
‘newly introduced’ services, harnessing their excellent reputation and goodwill in passenger
services. At the time of the introduction, the citizens of Imarti had been rallying to send supplies
from and to every part of the country to help those critically affected by the pandemic and left
with no essential supplies - medical items such as sanitizers, masks, feminine hygiene products
and food. Consequently, the introduction of the cargo services by the Big 5 was welcomed and
availed of in record numbers.
18 By September 2020, the Big 5 had managed to mitigate their financial losses to an extent by
becoming some of the most sought after cargo carriers. The full-fledged entry of the Big 5 into
cargo operations had a significant impact on the combined market shares of StatePro, DLP and
RedArrow, with it falling to around 59%.
20
19 In December 2020, the Aviation Collective of Imarti, a non-profit company having its main
object to secure the welfare of the express industry and its consumers in all respects, began to
receive complaints about a steady and common increase in prices, especially the FSC rates of the
Big 5. Enterprises and individuals alike, who had grown to rely on the services provided by the
companies, complained that a higher FSC rate was adding up to higher prices to be paid by
consumers, and in the context of the pandemic where it was imperative to be able to use these
services, consumers had no option but to adhere to these prices, and that even a slight increase
in the FSC charges, impacted their financial capacity as well.
20 Shortly thereafter the Aviation Collective of Imarti approached the CCI and filed an information
dated 4th January 2021, under Section 19 of the Imarti Competition Act, alleging cartelization
among the Big 5, stating that the FSC was merely a tool being used by them to overcharge cargo
tariff and exploit the dependency of consumers on air cargo companies during the Tikok-20
pandemics, as opposed to it being a cushion for ATF prices.
21 Upon receipt of the information the DG began its investigation, only for the CCI to receive a
leniency application from Vina Airways handing over email, text and memo correspondences as
well as a record of meetings with regard to FSC rates between the Big 5. In the first set of
correspondences between February and May 2020, it was divulged that top management of the
Big 5 had regularly communicated with each other discussing how to mitigate the impact of the
pandemic on their businesses. They also inquired whether each of them had been contemplating
taking on cargo services, while exchanging technical know-how about these operations that
would help them make decisions.
22 In the second set between June and December 2020, the DG also found that the
correspondences between June to December 2020 highlighted that with the uncertainty of the
situation, the onset of a recession, and negligible demand for passenger carriers, the ATF prices
were constantly dropping with marginal upward fluctuations extremely rare and short lived. As a
result of this, maintaining revenues from cargo operations was also difficult. In relation to this,
the FSC rates of the dedicated cargo carriers were also discussed as fluctuating between Rs. 7/kg
to Rs. 14/kg as a result of ATF price changes
23 Further in the course of its investigation, the DG also found the date of implementation of
revised FSC rates across the Big 5 as follows:
Table 2
21
Date of Revision FSC Rate per kg
13.07.20 8
15.08.20 9
Varied dates in September 2020 8
10.10.20 10
Varied dates in November 2020 11
26.12.2020 13
24 In its report dated 20th March 2021, the DG found that the Big 5 had formed a cartel to fix the
FSC rates to augment their revenue. This was the result of concerted practices, evidenced by
repeated bilateral and multilateral contacts, which the Big 5 had decided, intended or
contemplated to adopt with regard to the FSC rates. The DG also noted that the practices
adopted by the Big 5, were not of the nature as exempted by the Communication dated
15.03.2020.
25 Further, the DG also found that the anti-competitive impact of the cartel was exacerbated by the
position and strength of the Big 5 in the civil aviation market. Finally, the DG also made a note
of the earlier letter of the Parliament in November 2018, inferring that there was evidence of
collusive behaviour even before the pandemic began.
26 The Big 5 denied all the allegations and argued that there was no cartelization of the FSC rate.
There was no evidence produced that proved collusion, or meeting of minds, or the existence of
any anti-competitive agreement between the airlines that operated to the detriment of
consumers. Further, even if there be any finding of cartelization, that activity was protected by
the Communication of 15th March 2020 as a response to the Tikok-20 Pandemic. Finally the
companies also stated that in any case, they should not be penalised given their financial situation
and the previous orders of the CCI.
27 The CCI considered the findings of the DG Report and forwarded the same to the Parties for
their consideration. The CCI issued an order to list the matter for consideration on 29.05.2021.
Accordingly, written and oral arguments before the CCI are invited on behalf of the Informants,
the Aviation Collective of Imarti and the Opposite Parties (OPs) - CarinaJet, Vina Airways,
PurpleAir, AirImarti and YesAir (Big 5).
22
Note
1 The laws of Imarti are pari materia to India. Orders and judgments of the Indian courts have a
high persuasive value in Imarti. Of significant value is also the decisional practice of competition
regulators in the European Union and the United States of America.
2 The “Advisory to Businesses in Time of Covid-19” issued by the Competition Commission of

India dated 19th April 2020 only has persuasive value in Imarti.
3 Participants are at liberty to identify and frame issues as they deem fit.
4 Participants may make reasonable assumptions about the functioning of the civil airlines industry
in the context of the problem.
5 The authenticity of the market share reports and rates are not to be questioned.
6 Please do not presume or insert any other parties than the ones mentioned in the supply chain.
7 For the purposes of this Moot Proposition, participants are advised to not go beyond the
definitional understanding of the terms ‘Fuel Surcharge’ and ‘Aviation Turbine Fuel’ as given in
the proposition.
8 Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the
author’s imagination, or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual
events is purely coincidental.
9 Please do not attempt to contact the author of the moot proposition, any attempt to do so will
result in disqualification.
23
4TH TNNLU – CCI NATIONAL ONLINE MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2021

MAY 28 – 30 , 2021
REGISTRATION FORM
DETAILS OF THE INSTITUTION
Name and Address of the Institution
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Contact Number ___________________________________________________________________
Email Address ____________________________________________________________________
DETAILS OF THE PARTICIPANTS
Name And Year Of

Participant Gender Mobile No. And Email ID Photograph
Study
Speaker 1
Speaker 2
Researcher
24
DECLARATION
We hereby declare that the institution and its team members will abide by all the Rules of the
Competition set by the Organizers and as notified to us from time to time throughout the period of the
Competition. We also declare and confirm that all the information provided by the Organizers in the
registration form is true and accurate to the best of our knowledge. In case of non-compliance or
violation of any rules or regulations on our part, the Organizers shall reserve the right to cancel our
registration/candidature.
__________________ ___________________ __________________

Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Researcher
(Name & Signature) (Name & Signature) (Name & Signature)
Date: _________________ _____________________________________

Seal and Signature of the Head of the Institution
25
26
TNNLU-CCI
National Online Moot Court Competition
May 28– 30, 2021
Instagram: instagram.com/tnnlu_mcc
Email: nmcc@tnnlu.ac.in

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4th TNNLU – CCI

National Online Moot Court

May 28th - 30th, 2021

Organised by Tamil Nadu National Law University

4th TNNLU – CCI NATIONAL ONLINE MOOT COURT COMPETITION,

{28th – 30th May 2021}

Tamil Nadu National Law University

The Competition Commission of India

Centre for Competition Law, TNNLU

Moot Court Committee, TNNLU

OFFICIAL SCHEDULE ................................................................................................................................ 5

3. Release of Problem and Clarifications ....................................................................................... 8

4. Memorial Rules .............................................................................................................................. 9

5. Competition Rounds .................................................................................................................. 12

7. Code of Conduct ......................................................................................................................... 15

MOOT PROPOSITION .............................................................................................................................. 17

REGISTRATION FORM ............................................................................................................................. 25

Commencement of Provisional Registration March 16, 2021

Release of Moot Problem & Rules April 6, 2021

Release of Clarifications April 19, 2021

Deadline for submission of Soft Copy of the

Release of Results of the Memorial Qualifier

Final Submission of Qualified Memorials 11:59 PM (IST), May 21, 2021

Orientation and Memorial Exchange May 28, 2021

Dates of the Competition May 29 and 30, 2021

RULES OF THE 4TH TNNLU – CCI NATIONAL ONLINE MOOT COURT

2.2. Team Composition

3.1. General Rules for Registration

3.2. Provisional Registration

3.3. Final Registration

4. CLARIFICATIONS ON THE MOOT PROBLEM

5.1. General Rules for Memorials

5.2. Rules for Submission of Soft Copy of the Memorials

5.3. Rules on the Content and Formatting Specifications of Memorials

5.4. Evaluation of Memorials

Criteria For Evaluation Maximum Marks

Application of Facts 25 marks

Knowledge, Interpretation and Application of Law 25 marks

Ingenuity and Logical Reasoning 20 marks

Use of Authorities and Precedents 20 marks

Presentation and Formatting 10 marks

Failure to include all the sections in the

Disclosure of identity of the team or of the

Delay in submission 1 mark per hour of delay

Incorrect Margins 2 marks – one-time penalty

Excessive length of any section of the

Plagiarism in Memorials Disqualification of the team

5.6. Copyright and Publication of Memorials

6.1. Memorial qualifier round:

6.2. ORAL ROUND PROCEDURES

6.3. Preliminary Rounds

6.4 Advanced Rounds

6.5 Scoring Criteria

Criteria for Evaluation Maximum Marks

6.6 Researcher’s Test

7.1. The Competition includes the following awards:

Awards Prize Money

Airlines FSC Rate per kg

Vina Airways Rs.6

YesAir Rs. 6.25

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION

i. sharing of data on stock levels,

Date of Revision FSC Rate per kg

Varied dates in September 2020 8

________ _ __________

Date: _ _____________________